Join us as we take a peek inside your carbon filter to see what’s really going on!

Carbon filters contain activated carbon (also known as activated charcoal.)  Activated carbon is specially processed from charcoal at extremely high temperatures.  This process gives the carbon a very high level of “microporosity” or extremely fine porosity, visible only with the aid of a microscope.  When we refer to carbon as being “activated” or “active,” we are essentially referring to the existence of this “microporosity.”

To the naked eye, the contents of your carbon filter doesn’t look that exciting – just a pile of carbon granules.  The real magic of activated carbon only becomes clear when it is viewed under an electron microscope.  The key lies in its super-high surface area, visible as labyrinths of hills and gullies, perhaps only separated from each other by a few nanometers. Amazingly, just one ounce of activated carbon has a surface area in excess of 150,000 feet² (or about four football pitches.) These vast amounts of additional surface area created by these micro-textures dramatically increase the carbon’s ability to absorb molecules.

So how do you measure the efficiency of a carbon filter?  Well, it really depends on what you want to use it for.  Different types of activated carbon suit different applications.  Manufacturers of carbon filters sometimes refer to the ability of the activated carbon to hold iodine as a measure of its efficiency.  However, when using a carbon filter in a real indoor gardening scenario there is a lot more going on than in a lab testing for iodine absorption.

Airflow and Effectiveness

The big challenge for a carbon filter in an indoor growing scenario is the speed of the air-flow over the activated carbon. The activated carbon bed is being subjected to extremely high airflows with small contact times.  In fact, activated carbon industry experts are often astounded that the filters designed and used in indoor gardens are 100% efficient and operate for long periods of time.  Many growers use extraction fans to replace old air with fresh air in their indoor gardens.  This helps to insure sufficient levels of CO2 and keep the garden’s temperature and humidity within an acceptable range for healthy plant growth and bloom.  Often a carbon filter is inserted inline into the extraction system.  But many novice growers fail to realize how much extra resistance is created by their carbon filter – around 20%.  That means the CFMs of any extraction fan connected to a carbon filter are reduced by 20%!  (Not to mention the resistance caused by ducting.)  This is why it’s really important to over-spec your extraction equipment.

Key Quality Factors of Carbon Filters

• The actual surface area of activated carbon.
• The meso and micro pore surface of the carbon.
• The macro structure of the carbon particle.
• Packing.  Correctly packed carbon does not settle and allow air to pass through the filter untreated.
• How the above factors affect the airflow around each particle and ultimately through the carbon bed.

Filter Fact

Just like us, carbon filters gain significant weight during their lifetimes! The more weight gain the better. Highly effective filters can gain 12-15% of thir base weight. Low quality filters only gain 2-3 % weight.

Non-uniform carbon particle shapes and sizes create extra turbulence when air moves over them.  This contributes to increased entrapment of molecules.

To imagine this, picture some waves reaching a small beach.
Low turbulence = calm lapping waves.
High turbulence = huge crashing breakers on to rocky shore line.

Now try to imagine this within an airflow situation. Which scenario do you think works best?  It turns out that low turbulence is not what you’re after. The more the air swirls and gets pounded against the carbon the greater the removal of organic molecules. Smooth laminar airflow is not the aim of the game.

Humidity

Remember – carbon filters effectively stop working in very humid environments!  This is because water coats the activated carbon matrix, which simply means that no carbon surface is available to catch organic molecules.  Keep your garden’s relative humidity well below 82%.

Maintain the Pre-Filter

That white wrapping around your carbon filter isn’t just there to make it look pretty.  Dust and larger particles can physically block the activated carbon surface matrix.  The pre-filter is there to protect your carbon filter.  Never run your carbon filter without a pre-filter and make sure you wash it every three to four months.

Fly with the Eagles

The higher up you position your carbon filter, the more efficient it will be.  Warmer air will rise in your indoor garden.  It has more energy and therefore binds with more organic molecules.  You also want to be removing the warmest air from your garden in order to cool it most efficiently.

Depending on the filter / fan / humidity combination and the quality of the filter – they can be effective in an indoor garden for between eight months to two years.  Some stores offer carbon filter re-packing services.  Check with the manufacturer of your carbon filter to see if they recommend this.  Some carbon filters contain uniform pelletized carbon which is straightforward to refill whereas others are filled with a proprietary blend of particle sizes.

The optimum size for an activated carbon particle to remove volatile organic compounds from an airstream is 4.55mm to 6.55mm.  Smaller pieces tend to pack the filter bed causing “dead air passages” (blockages to the rest of us!)  These cause extra airflow pressure on the “live air passages.”

Believe it or not, the hobby hydroponics industry has created some of the most advanced designs in carbon air filtration and these cutting-edge techniques to remove organic molecules from high flow airstreams has since spread to other industries. However, the basic shape of the filter has not changed since 1985 – the cylindrical open mesh type canister, invented in Holland.  It is by far the most popular shape in use today. There is no more efficient use of materials and space to filter organic molecules from high flow airstreams.

Dan’s Method – Calculating By Room Volume

You will find many calculations on the web for sizing a fan for ventilating indoor gardens; however, what many of these calculations fail to take into consideration is the friction loss on carbon filters and increased temperatures from HID lights. So here’s my calculation method, which you can use as a guide for sizing an exhaust fan for a growing area. Keep in mind that this calculation will give you the lowest required CFM (Cubic feet of air per minute) required to ventilate the indoor garden.

Step 1 – Room Volume

First the volume of the room needs to be calculated. To calculate, multiply length x width x height of growing area. For example: a room that is 8′ x 8′ x 8′ will have a volume of 512 cubic feet.

Step 2 – CFM Required

Your extraction fan should be able to adequately exchange the air in an indoor garden once every three minutes. Therefore, 512 cubic feet / 3 minutes = 171 CFM. This will be the absolute minimum CFM for exchanging the air in an indoor garden.

Step 3 – Additional factors

Unfortunately, the minimum CFM needed to ventilate a indoor garden is never quite that simple. Once the grower has calculated the minimum CFM required for their indoor garden the following additional factors need to be considered:

• Number of HID lights: add 5% per air-cooled light or 10-15% per non-air cooled light.
• CO2: add 5% for rooms with CO2 enrichment
• Filters: if a carbon filter is to be used with the exhaust system then add 20%
• Ambient temperature for hot climates (such as Southern California) add 25%; for hot and humid climates (such as Florida) add up to 40%.

An Example

In our 8’ x 8’ room we have 2 x 1000w air cooled lights, and we plan to use a carbon filter. We also plan to use CO2 in this room. The ambient temperature is 90 °F (32 °C), however, we will be using air from another room that is air-conditioned. Here’s the minimum required CFM to ventilate the room:

1)    Calculate the CFM required for room (see above).
2)    Add 10% (for 2 air cooled lights).
3)    Add 5% of original CFM calculation (for CO2).
4)    Add 20% of original CFM calculation for the carbon filter.
5)    Air is coming from an air-conditioned room so no need to add any other percentages.
6)    CFM = (171CFM) + (171CFM x 10%) + 
(171CFM x 5%) + (171CFM x 20%) + ( 0 )
= 231CFM.

This is the absolute minimum CFM required to ventilate your room.

The next step might seem to match the closest fan to this CFM. However, for this example I’d choose a six inch fan with a CFM of around 400 or more, and a 6 inch carbon filter to match. The extra CFMs may seem a bit excessive (calculations on most indoor gardening websites would recommend a 4” fan and a 4” carbon filter) but it’s always better to over-spec since we need to compensate for air resistance in ducting too.

Also, as we are using a carbon filter we will need to match the fan with the filter so that the fan that will neatly fit onto the filter.

Note: If all the variables are kept the same and we changed the room size from 8’ x 8’ to a 12’ x 12’, then the minimum required CFM would be 519 CFM.

The All-Important Inflow!

An intake port can be anything from a gap under the door to an open window – even a hole in the wall. The best place for an intake port is diagonally opposite from your exhaust fan; that way, air has to pass across the entire room – very efficient. You can put a piece of screen over the opening to keep insects and animals out, a piece of A/C filter to keep dust out, or a louvered shutter or backdraft damper that opens when the fan turns on and closes when it turns off. You can also use a motorized damper. This gets installed in-line with your ducting and is plugged into whatever device controls your exhaust fan. When your fan turns on, it allows air to pass. When your fan shuts off, it seals completely, preventing CO2, air, etc. from passing. You can get creative with these devices and use one fan to control two rooms, etc.

One additional note about intake ports: you will see much better results from your exhaust system if you install a second fan to create an active (as opposed to passive) intake system. Normally, when your exhaust fan sucks air out of your room, air is passively going to get sucked back into the room. By installing a second fan on the intake side, you will reduce the amount of negative pressure created in the indoor garden, thereby cutting down greatly on the amount of work the exhaust fan has to do and allowing much more air to pass through. If you’re not sure or you don’t want to spend the money, start out with just an exhaust fan. If it’s not performing as well as you thought it would, try adding an intake fan – you’ll smile when you see the difference!

Fred’s Method – Calculating By Wattage

Hello there. First off, I’m used to working with Celsius, not Fahrenheit, but I’ve done my best to provide formulas for both. My method for calculating fan requirements does not cover active cooling with air conditioning systems or cool-tube designs. We’re talking about everyday grow chambers here, totally enclosed for air-flow control, with no large amounts of radiant heat into or out of the box. Your mileage may vary some for these reasons.

Right then, let’s get started:

1) Start at the beginning and design this right! Before you even buy or cut anything for your new project, determine the highest temperature that your intake air will ever be when lights run. Call this T (inlet).

2) Use these formulas to determine the difference in temperature you can tolerate. 80 °F (27 °C) is just about the optimal for growing most plants. You can go up to 76 °F (30°C) if you have to, but aim for 80 °F (27 °C).

Tdiff = 27 °C – T (temperature of inlet air)

3) Add up wattage for all power sources in your indoor garden. Lights, pumps, heaters, humidifier, radio, coffee maker, whatever! Add it ALL up and call it Watts. If it is on for more than three minutes and uses more than a watt, add it up. This will make your number worst-case and therefore a conservative value.

4) Compute the absolute minimum fan power you will need using the following formulas. Fan power is measured in the amount of air (cubic feet) shifted per minute. The formula below is the minimum fan rating you must have to achieve your temperature goals. You will have to increase fan power to compensate for duct constriction, small inlets, carbon scrubbers, screens, or other items that block airflow.

CFM = 1.75 x Watts / Tdiff (in Celsius)

If you prefer to work in Fahrenheit, try this formula:

CFM = 3 x Watts / Tdiff (in Fahrenheit)

5) Get at least this fan power or don’t come and ask questions! If you are going to have more than one fan, they should be mounted side-by-side rather than inline if you want to add their different CFM ratings. For inline fans, use the lowest air-flow rating of all fans in the path. A fan on the inlet and a fan on the exhaust of the box are considered inline fans. Fans just circulating air inside the indoor garden should not be counted for airflow but must be included in your initial wattage calculations.

Ok, to see these formulas in action we’re going to have to do a little number crunching:

An Example

Ok, let’s say you have 2000 watts in a 8 foot by 8 foot room with an 8 foot ceiling height.

So what amount of air do I need to move to keep the room at 82°F (28°C)? My incoming air temperatures are 68°F (20°C) during the lights on period.

Tdiff = 28 – 20 = 8°C

For Celsius the formula comes out at:

CFM = 1.75 x 2000 / 8 = 438 CFM

For Fahrenheit we get the following:

Tdiff = 82 – 68 = 14°F

CFM = 3 x 2000 / 14 = 429 CFM

Here’s a quick look-up chart to show some further examples:

Remember, Tdiff shows how much your temperatures will rise above your inflow air temperature for a given wattage and air movement.

* Just a humorous example. 1000 watts of light with a PC computer fan (15 CFM) – temperatures rise 189°F according to this formula!

If you are adding any carbon scrubbers or extensive ductwork, this is where you add to the fan size to account for air pressure losses. You have to move this many CFM, or the numbers don’t come out right.  Exactly how much these items diminish your airflow depends on your exact configuration and is beyond the scope of this introductory article!

What to do when your outside temperatures are higher than your maximum allowed indoor garden temperatures:

You have a few choices:

1)    Stop growing for a while ’til things cool off, or try running your grow lamps at night when inlet air will be cooler.

2)    Reduce your lighting to drop the heat load. Not good if the incoming air is already over critical when it arrives in the box. Might be possible if the inlet air temperature is lower but you are running too many lights to keep up with the cooling.

3)    Use active air conditioning.

Any other helpful formulas out there? Tell us about it below!